The use is widespread of profiled elements for laying along the external perimeter of terraces and of balconies, to protect the edges of the tiles and to ensure correct drainage of water downward.
Profiled elements are known which are provided with a perforated wing for anchoring to the balcony, over which the tiles are laid, which ensures the fixing of the profiled element to the support and which has drainage slots for the outflow of any water that seeps under the tiles. They also have a front portion in front of the outer edge of the floor paving, with the interposition of sealant, and they are characterized by the presence of a drip lip element, which is constituted by a drip edge projection that protrudes outward at the lowest point of the profiled element, with the purpose of slowing the water and redirecting it outward, in order to make the water drip away from the walls, while favoring its vertical descent.
FIG. 1 shows an example of such conventional profiled elements.
In the example, the profiled element is generally designated by the reference letter A, the wing with the letter B, a slotted drainage hole with C, the front portion with D and the drip edge projection with E.
As will be made clear below, these show room for improvement.
First of all, especially for abundant quantities of water, the drip edge projection is often, not sufficient to ensure a vertical descent of the water, which instead tends to veer toward the vertical wall below the terrace.
Often during the laying of profiled elements the operators cannot maintain an optimal distance from the edge of the tiles, which would assist in preventing the falling water from veering toward the wall.
Sealant is inserted between the front portion and the outer edge of the tiles, and the grip of this sealant to the front portion is not always guaranteed.
Furthermore, the sealant obstructs the drainage slots, thus limiting the drainage capacity of the system.
Another drawback lies in the fact that affixing connector elements between two profiled elements is not easy for the operators, who have to carry out this operation after laying the profiled elements.